This breakfast briefing will take a look at the outlook for the risk reduction market - looking in particular at how schemes can best prepare to conduct an insurance transaction, capacity in the market as well as the key factors that are likely to affect both pricing and demand.

Professional Pensions Investment Conference has gathered a great following and is a widely respected event which brings together senior decision makers within public and private sector pension schemes.

So far, DC plans have largely been focused on the onset of auto-enrolment and changes to the regulatory framework - be it the ‘charge cap,' ‘pension freedoms' or consultations around ‘value for money', says Annabel Tonry, Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM).

In 2015 George Osborne, then the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, decided that those age over 55 could take much more of their pension in cash. This has since opened up a range of possibilities for DC scheme members in the world of pensions.

ICI doubles exposure to emerging market debt

UK - Imperial Chemical Industries has doubled its exposure to emerging debt through two new mandates to improve the diversification of the fund's return-seeking assets.

Ashmore Investment Management has been awarded a £65m brief by ICI pension fund and a £5m mandate by ICI specialty chemicals pension fund, on the back of initial allocations made in 2003.

The mandates are being managed within Ashmore’s fund of funds.

Commenting on the move, an ICI pension fund spokesman said: “Having moved 80% of our fund into investment grade bonds a few years ago, our big risk management focus now – in line with the recommendations of the Myners report – is to improve the diversification of the fund’s return-seeking assets.

“We believe that, by switching a further £65m from equities into emerging market bonds, we can reduce equity concentration risks whilst managing future expected returns for this section of the portfolio.

“We have chosen to make the additional investment via the Ashmore fund of funds because this route gives the manager the maximum discretion to seek value wherever they can find it and, equally important, to avoid any emerging market risks that they may feel are poorly rewarded.”

Mark Coombs, Ashmore managing director, said: “Our Ashmore fund of funds invests in underlying Ashmore funds in all the different emerging market strategies we manage, and allows us to offer an element of balance to investors, but also, through active management of the allocations, to take advantage of the best opportunities available across the whole universe at any one time.”